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Friday, January 27, 2017

Dear Abby - Remembering Special Pets: Sophie

Dear Friends,I hope you are having a good week! Thanks for stopping. Today one of my dachshund friends, Don, has stopped by. His beautiful rescue dachshund, Lulu Belle visited the blog last year. Click here to read her story: Meet Lulu Belle (A Rescue Spotlight). Don has a very special dachshund to remember here today.Abby: Thanks for stopping by! What pet would you like to remember
at my blog today?

Don: Today I would like to remember Sophie. She was born in 1966, died in
1977, and was our first dachshund after we were married. Sophie was a
dachshund blueblood, being a von Marienlust dachshund, and a direct
descendant of Baron von Marienlust, who won an award for his service
with the US Army in World War II as a bomb-sniffing dog. It was
estimated that he had saved hundreds of lives through the bombs he detected.
Abby: What are some happy memories of Sophie?

Don: Sophie loved to play ball. She would invent new games to play, and
always greeted me at home with her trademark red ball in her mouth. Any
time I went down into our basement was a treat for her, as she would
bounce her ball down the stairs to me, and wait for me to throw it up
into main floor of the house for her to retrieve. Then she would bring
it back and bounce it down to me again, and on and on. She never tired
of her ball-playing games, and in fact we used to call her Sophie Ballgame.

Abby: Do you have any funny anecdotes?

Don: Sophie loved to come fishing with me. I would put a cushion on the front
strut of my 14' fishing boat, and she would sit there by the hour,
watching the tip of the fishing rod to see if I caught a fish. When the
rod bent down, she would get all excited and come closer for me to show
her the fish. Then one day, we were on a family vacation on one of the
New York Finger Lakes, which are very big lakes. Sophie and I were out
fishing, I caught a fish, and I showed it to her. But this time, as I
put the fish back in the water, she got too excited and dove in after
it! And she was disoriented, and was swimming out into the middle of
this very big, very deep, half-mile wide lake. I figured I did not have
time to get the boat going and catch her that way, but fortunately I was
a very strong swimmer. So I threw my wallet into the bottom of the boat
and dove in after her! I caught up with her quickly, and turned her
around, but then I could not get us both back into the boat without
tipping it over. So we swam to shore together, which was only about 50
yards distant. After we got to shore, both dripping wet of course, I
persuaded my brother-in-law to take the other fishing boat that was
there and take me back out to get my boat and wallet. After that Sophie
was only allowed to fish with me when I was on shore, and not in a boat.

Abby: I enjoyed visiting with you today. Is there anything else
about Sophie you would like to share?
Don: She was really my first child, I loved her very much, and almost 40
years after she died I still miss her. Somewhere she is chasing her red
rubber ball and I know I will see her again.

Abby: Thank you, Don! I appreciate you stopping by. I loved hearing about Sophie. Her game of playing ball by bouncing it down the stairs sounds like fun to me! And she was a brave dog with her fishing adventure. I can tell how much she was loved from the way you speak of her.Friends, you can leave comments for Don in the comment section below. If you would like to visit and share your special memories, I would love to hear from you. Please leave your email in the comments so I can be in touch.Have a great weekend!Love,Abby xoxoxo

7 comments:

I so enjoyed reading about Sophie. In my mind's eye I can picture her with her red ball. None of our dachshunds have been ball retrievers, rather simply taking the ball and not letting it go. I am moved that Sophie is so loved and remembered so fondly after so many years. Thank you for sharing Sophie with us.

Oh Don what a wonderful memory of your beautiful girl. You toldthis story with so much love. My heart was smiling the entire time,Until I got down to where it had been 40 years, then I teared up. These little dachshunds just make you love them so much. We willnever forget the little crazy things these daredevils boldly do. Thank you so much Don~

About Me

Trish is a long-time online seller who loves all things vintage, but especially vintage children's books and ephemera. In other lives, worked as a bookstore manager and preschool teacher. Always pursuing vintage treasures, great reads, interesting words, and happiness.